APR.1771 HOTTENTOT HABITS AND CUSTOMS 441 
and coarse cheese; but they are immensely fond of spirituous 
liquors, and will never fail to get drunk with them if they 
have an opportunity. 
This little, and no more, of the customs of this much- 
spoken-of people I had myself an opportunity of seeing: from 
the Dutch I heard much, and select the following from their 
accounts :—- 
Within the boundaries of the Dutch settlements are 
many different nations of Hottentots, differing from each 
other in custom very materially. Some are far superior to 
others in arts. In general, however, all live peaceably with 
each other, seldom fighting, except those who live to the 
eastward, who are much annoyed by people called by the 
Dutch Boschmen. The latter live entirely upon plunder, steal- 
ing the cattle of the Hottentots, but not openly attacking 
them. They are armed, however, with lances or assagais, 
arrows (which they know how to poison, some with the 
juice of herbs, others with the poison of the snake called 
cobra di capelo), and stones (which some particular tribes 
throw so well that they will repeatedly strike a dollar or 
crown-piece at the distance of a hundred paces). They 
train up bulls, which they place round their crawls or towns 
in the night: these will constantly assemble and oppose 
either man or beast that approaches them, nor will they 
desist till they hear the voice of their masters, who know 
how to encourage them to fight, or to make them in an 
instant as tame and tractable as their other cattle. 
Some nations know how to melt and prepare copper, 
which is found among them, probably native, and make of 
it broad plates to ornament their foreheads. Others again, 
indeed most, know how to harden bits of iron, which they 
procure from the Dutch, and make of them knives superior 
to any the Dutch can sell them. 
Their chief people, many of whom have a large quantity 
of cattle of their own, are generally clad in the skins of 
lions, tigers, or zebras, etc., which they adorn and fringe very 
1 The term cobra di capella is only applied to the common Indian species 
of the cobra. 
